Hi everybody. It's Steve here again, and I'm back for my sixth audio in the Multiplicity of the Mind series. Obviously, we've been talking a lot about different parts of who we are, our sub personalities, and my hope is at this stage, I've merely got you thinking more about certain behaviors that you might have. Or certain feelings that you get that feel quite strong, that might be driven by different parts of who you are. I'm hoping that it's enabled you to soften your internal narrative a little. I'm hoping that it's enabled you to see yourself a little bit more compassionately. But if you're not, that's also fine. It's a journey. It's a process. This series is really more about creating awareness, curiosity.

So today I want to address more broadly the inner critic. We find that it's generally one of the louder parts that people tend to have. Most people, if not all people, tend to have some sort of inner critic. Some people are perhaps more blended with that part. Maybe they don't notice it so much. Some are perhaps very unblended, and instead of just hearing a rumbling critical monologue, they experience a part that shouts, blames shames. Maybe they experience that in a different voice. Maybe it's an internalized voice of a parent or caregiver, who perhaps was themselves critical. It's a spectrum, and the louder and more critical part is the, the more one tends to suffer. That is, of course, until we can learn to turn towards that voice and seek to understand it more. Rather than necessarily argue with it, or shame it back, or swear at it or banish it. I'd encourage you to just play around with the concept that we could actually try to understand that part instead. To turn towards it and show it compassion. To turn towards it and ask it what it is, what does it do, and why does it do what it does.

So that's what I want you to do today. I want you to, just maybe take a moment, maybe a quiet moment. And when you notice the critic, try to sort of pay attention to the physiological sensations that come with that. Invite those sensations to come in. I mean, they're there frequently, if not every day, for some of you. Be aware of it, acknowledge it. Seek permission from other parts, to engage with that part. Ask the other parts to step back. Especially the parts that hate it, the parts that are angry with it, the parts that don't like it. Just try to see and ask those parts to step back and give space to that inner critic to give its opinion. Maybe ask it questions. What do you do for me? Why do you do what you do for me? How long have you been doing this for me? How old are you? How old do you think I am? Curious as to what comes back, if you really look within.

In the next two audios I'll be trying out a couple of short and simple guided meditations that we might use in IFS therapy. But for now, I'm just getting you to think about the inner critic. What can we do? It's very common for people with ADHD to have quite a loud inner critic, for obvious reasons related to childhood and struggles, with learning and socializing, with impulsivity. What we tend to find though, when one really isolates that critic and turns towards it in a curious space with open eyes, what we tend to find is the critic is young. It's obviously a manager, a protector. And it's stuck in the past in a role it probably is not that keen on, which is probably quite tiresome. It's stuck seeking to drive very, very high standards of behavior to meet incredibly high expectations. Many of which nearly everyone would fall short of. The ‘not enough syndrome’ that we've talked about in the CBT series. What if this part just wants you to survive, to succeed, to be accepted, cherished, to find love, to connect? What if what you hear as blaming, shaming criticism, is just projected anxiety of a protective part that's stuck in the past? And it feels the only way to get you through harsh realities of life, are to push you like a drill sergeant. What if this part is actually just anxious? And what if we turned towards it and showed it compassion, explained your current situation is different now, and helped it to understand that you've got this?The self has got some control, has got some say in what happens. You have other parts that help you and bring you gifts. I'm curious to see what would happen if you did that. Give it a go. What's the worst that can happen?